Another Dark Tournament
by booboohoneychild
Summary: Yup, you guessed it folks. Another dark tournament. But this time, there will be a few changes to the rules and whatnot. YOU MUST READ TO FIND OUT YOUNG ONE! READ! and LEARN!
1. Chapter One

Tournament For Spirit World

The day dawned bright and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. A slight chill was in the autumn air and the trees swayed in the lightly in the breeze. Usually Yusuke Urameshi would be sleeping in on a Saturday like this, but he had been summoned by the ruler of Spirit World, Koenma. He and the rest of the crew were standing in Koenma's office, lounging in chairs, waiting for the toddler.

"When's DaiperButt gonna get here?" Yusuke voiced, "This is taking forever."

The door opened.

"Speak of the devil," whispered Kurama.

Koenma walked up to his desk and sat down in his chair. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, Yusuke." He shuffled a few of his papers and began speaking. "I have received reports of a demon entering this year's Dark Tournament."

Yusuke sat straight up. "No Koenma, not again! I almost got killed in the last one, about three times!"

Koenma sighed, "I know Yusuke, and I regret having to send you on this mission, but this demon, Surugachi Hitsuri has a history of trying to overthrow me. And with the wish the Dark Tournament gives out, we have an almost sure bet he will wish to be the ruler of Spirit World."

Yusuke sat back in his chair and covered his eyes with his hands. He took a deep breath.

"Besides, Yusuke," Koenma continued, "You should be able to win for sure, you haven't lost a fight since you received Genkai's Spirit Orb."

"Yea," Yusuke conceded, "but Kuwabara can't fight in this one. He has too much on his plate right now."

"Like what?" Koenma asked.

"Well, he's finishing school, his sister's getting married, and she's put him in charge of hiring the caterers and his mom is in the hospital and the list goes on and on. The poor guy is handling it well, be he can't be gone for that long this time." Yusuke said.

Koenma nodded, "Two others will be found, strong ones."

"Okay." Yusuke looked at his watch, "Oh no! I've got 10 minutes to meet Keiko at the restaraunt!"

Koenma waved Yusuke to a portal. "Round up Hiei and Kurama in the next two weeks."

Yusuke gave a jaunty salute and stepped through the portal.

"What do you mean another Dark Tournament?" Keiko hissed.

"Just what it sounds like Keiko. I just got the news today. It's another saving the world thing." Yusuke told her.

Keiko pursed her lips and looked away. Her cheeks got red and her eyes watered up.

"I'm not going to die again, Keiko," Yusuke covered her hand in his. She looked up at him, a tear running down her pale cheek. "I promise."

The next day Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei walked into Keonma's office. Kurama had been easy to find, and pretty willing to join Yusuke on this mission. Hiei was a different story. He required all of Kurama and Yusuke's talents to try to find him and he required a large bribe to get him to join. His bribe was he could wish for anything, _anything_, he wanted, and no one would say anything about it.

Koenma waved them to chairs and they took a seat.

Hiei looked at all of them then said, "We only have three people, you know that they won't allow any less than six members on a team this year, and we have no substitute."

Keonma took a deep breath, "Yes, I know. That's why I have arranged for others to replace those you lost. They come from the outermost corners of Spirit World and I had to pull a few strings to get them. So you will take them without complaint."

"Just show them to us already. And they better not be boys just into their fighting age." Yusuke grumbled.

"Oh, don't worry Yusuke," Koenma reassured him, "They're not even boys at all."

Before the others had a chance to reply, the door opened and three girls walked in. The first was about 5'4" and looked to be about thirteen years old. She had long forest green hair that was kept in a plait that reached past her waist, large, round emerald green eyes and the tanned skin of someone who had been in the sun a lot. She had large, feathery forest and emerald green wings that sprouted from her shoulder blades, a petite, lithe frame that they knew held more power than it looked. She wore an earth-brown halter-like shirt with an elaborate wing pattern all over it, light brown deerskin breeches and sturdy brown boots that reached her knees and were loose near the top.

The second was four inches taller and walked without noise, like water gliding over a stone. She had shoulder length, wavy, deep blue hair and a lock of chin length straight hair that flopped over one of her startlingly clear, almond-shaped, sapphire eyes. Small blue fins stuck out of her head where ears should be and she had the intelligent expression of one who had knowledge well past her years, and she looked to be 18. She wore a light-weight, sky blue, loose, sleeveless shift trimmed in a darker blue that reached the middle of her calves, no shoes and a white belt around her waist. She wore a black armband with a water pattern etched into it, several gold bracelets and a sapphire pendant on a fine silver chain. Both of her fin-ears were pierced with sapphire orbs on silver loops.

The third made Yusuke tighten his grip on his armrest. She walked with no sound either, if you weren't looking at her feet, you would think she was gliding towards you. None of her upper body moved. She was of average height, 5'6", and very skinny, although the roundness of muscles in her arms and legs showed her frail-looking frame could drop-kick your ass in less than a second. She had long, straight black hair that draped around her like a cloak, the end of the length resting on a nicely curved buttocks. Her eyes were pure silver, the whole eye-ball was silver. She had no expression on her face and had the look of someone who was quiet on the outside, but a fiery ball of fierceness they never let out. She wore a short sleeved black tunic like shirt that came to mid-thigh, a tight, black body suit made of a shiny material that wasn't leather, but was thing, breathable and movable. On her feet she had knee-high black leather boots with a deadly looking curved spike on the toes. She had a fighter glove on her left hand and a sgnet ring on her right. Her pointed ears were pierced, the left four, the right 6. She wore a black choker with an onyx set into a silver star. She looked the fiercest of them all.

Keonma cleared his throat as the girls stopped by his desk, facing the boys. "You can introduce yourself, ladies."

The littlest one went first. She stepped forward, a mischievous grin on her face. She waved at the three males in front of her and gave a small bow. "Hi!" she said, her voice light and cheery, "I'm Miki, of the Sky Hawk tribe in the mountains, but you can call me Hawk."

Yusuke grinned. "I'm Yusuke, from the Nigenkai, Spirit Detective."

Kurama gave the young girl a warm smile, "My name is Kurama, it is nice to meet you, Hawk."

"Hiei," Hiei said shortly.

The short demons terseness had no affect on Miki's happy mood. The blue girl stood where she was but gave a small bow.

"I am Aiden, of the Water Clan within Grand Lake, but I prefer the name Aqua."

"Aqua it is," Kurama said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Aiden gave a small wry grin, "The pleasure is all mine, bandit fox."

Kurama blushed and scratched his head.

They all turned to the third, the one dressing in black. She gave no motion to move her mouth, her silver eyes didn't move. Her crossed arms stayed where they were, a stoic expression on her face.

Miki flapped a hand in her direction. "She's Onyx, a shadow demon, but call her Whisper, 'cause that all she does, whisper."

The three boys stared, not saying anything. Onyx's presence was foreboding, if you looked at her. If you were concentrated on something else, she seemed to bland in with the shadows.

Koenma cleared his throat again. "Well, now that that's settled we can move onto the business at hand, this year's Dark Tournament."


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"The rules for this year are the same as last year, but now they allow six members on a team, not including the substitute." Koenma said.

"Which, by the way, we don't have." Yusuke reminded the toddler.

"I'm confident you don't need one, but if so, I have a replacement that just insn't here yet, he will show up at the dark tournament."

"So this one's a male." Hiei remarked, "Finally."

After that comment he found himself under the pupil-less gaze of Onyx, or Whisper. They stared at each other , for a while, not blinking, not moving, eyes locked in a wordless battle of staring.

Koenma slapped his desk, both turned to look at him. "Enough of that!" he said firmly, "Your giving me the creeps."

Whisper's mouth twitched. The others were shocked. It was the first hint of any emotion, any real movement really, since they walked in.

"Moving on Koenma," Kurama said, "When do we leave?"

"You leave," the toddler said slowly, shuffling through a leaf of papers. He found the one he was looking for and found the paragraph he needed. "Tomorrow through a portal from here. You'll arrive at the hotel you stayed in last time and you will be treated as V.I.P.'s."

"TOMORROW!" Yusuke shouted, rising from his seat, "That barely gives us time to find out more about our new team members!"

Koenma flapped a hand, "You can find that out in the days you are on Hanging Neck Isle before the Tournament actually starts."

Yusuke calmed down a bit but still mumbled under his breath. Kurama sighed.

"Will anyone from the last tournament be there?" he asked.

Koenma got another sheet of paper and read off names and teams. "Touya, Jin and Chuu, with some other new people, umm," she read through the other names silently. "No one else, just them."

Yusuke made a fist in front of him, a cocky smile on his face. "Alright, I've been wanting to fight Chuu again. It will be good to see them."

"You're friends with some people you're going to fight?" Miki asked, very much the curious child.

Yusuke nodded, grinning. "Yes, we fight, but we're still goof friends no matter what. It just tells us, when one gets defeated, that the other needs to work harder. I'll bet those three have gotten a lot stronger since we last saw them!"

Kurama nodded, "I agree."

Koenma finished briefing them and dismissed them to the living wing of the palace. They gathered in a large, living room type place, all except for Whisper. She walked straight past the entrance to the room and walked down a dark hall until she vanished from sight, blending with the shadows.

Kurama looked after her.

"Don't mind her," came Aiden's voice, "She never talks, she's spoken maybe two words since we've met."

"And what were those two words?" Yusuke asked, an evil grin on his face.

Aiden gave her small wry grin and shook her head, "Stop talking."

Miki gave a small toss of her child-like hands, "They were mainly directed at me though. I have a habit of being a bit of a chatterbox."

They heard Hiei mumble something under his breath and Yusuke snorted.

"Hiei's kind of like that too," Yusuke said, "But he'll tell you off if you annoy him. He's not stingy with degrading words."

"If you don't want a nasty surprise when you wake up in the morning, Detective, I'd shut up now." Hiei said from the windowsill.

Yusuke gave a small laugh, "See what I mean?"

Miki gave a giggle.

Kurama leaned forward, his head resting lightly on the tips of his fingers. "So tell me, Aqua, why did you decide to participate with us?"

The water demoness shrugged. "My family owed Koenma a favor after he helped us rid our kingdom of the lake dragoons, and I've always wanted to be in a tournament of this sort."

"Wait," Yusuke said, "You're royalty?"

Aqua nodded.

"I am too!" Miki called. At the guy's surprised looks she blushed. "Well, not exactly, more chief's daughter. We don't have a kingdom like ne-san Aqua has."

Yusuke had a blank look on his face. "You two are sisters?"

Miki laughed, "No silly! But we're as good as! Right ne-san?"

Aqua nodded, smiling fondly at the younger girl and smoothing the hair on top of her head.

The sun set and Miki yawned, her wings stretching with the rest of her body. "I'm sleepy. I'm off to bed." She said her goodnights, gave a sleepy wave and smile and trotted off, eyes half-closed, to her rooms.

Yusuke laid back on the couch. He regarded Aqua, who looked out the nearest window. "Interesting bunch, you are."

Aqua sighed, giving a small smile. "Miki is…young. She has a surprising power for her age though. I was surprised when I got to know her."

"And when was that?" Kurama asked.

"About a month ago. He was searching well before that. He had Whisper living here before me a Miki got here though."

Yusuke sat up quickly, leaning his arms on his legs, holding a hand out palm up. "What is her deal? Why is she all… oh I don't know… uh-"

"Reserved?" Aqua asked with a grin.

Yusuke nodded, "Yes, putting it lightly."

"Have you heard of the Whisper Clan?" Aqua asked.

She got a blank look from Yusuke, Kurama nodded and Hiei came and sat on a chair to better hear this story.

"Well, she's part of that. They are all like that, they use their Whisper magic and hardly ever say two words to each other. Their main way of 'talking' I guess you could say is through actions. They are trained from the cradle to fight and to use their magic and to never let their emotions, thoughts, anything, show. They are born with the knowledge of the Whisper language and are schooled in how to use it. From what I learned from Koenma, she's second in rank in her clan."

"How did you find all this out, from Koenma?" Hiei asked.

"Partly, but I did do my homework too. I wanted to know what I was faced with for teammates."

"So Miki, or Hawk, is a cheerfull kid, Whisper is a walking shadow and you are..?" Kurama said.

Aqua winked, "Somewhere in between. Not as outgoing as Miki, but not as statue-like as Onyx."

"You don't use their nicknames?" Yusuke asked, resuming his stretch on the couch.

"Not when they are not around." Aqua replied.

Hiei stood up and started walking out.

"Are you retiring for the night, Hiei?" Kurama asked the fire apparition.

Hiei nodded and walked down the hall.

The remaining three decided it was time for bed too, they would have to get up early the next morning.

Hiei lay in his bed, hands behind his head, one leg bent up, the other straight. He had taken off his cloak and shirt and belts and shoes, leaving him in his pants. He removed his bandana and closed his normal eyes. In his mind he moved through the halls until he came to Onyx's rooms. He walked through the door and up to the sleeping girl. He could barely tell if she was breathing. Without hesitation he dove into her mind, wanting to find out more about this mysterious demon.

Instantly it felt as if a red-hot poker jabbed itself into Hiei's Jagan eye. He took in a sharp breath through his teeth, clapping his hands over his hurting eye. He opened his real eyes and almost flinched. Onyx was on top of him, on her hands and knees. Her clawed hands gripped the mattress beside his ears, her bare knees were light on the mattress. She slept in just the short tunic, her long hair kept back in a ponytail at the bas of her neck. Long strands on her hair had fallen out of the tie though, falling on Hiei's chest, softly tickling the muscles. The situation would have been romantic if either were interested. They weren't

A voice sounded in Hiei's mind, a female voice, a whisper, light and breathy.

"What do you want?" Onyx asked telepathically.

"I need to know more about you." Hiei said aloud. He shifted slightly, his red eyes staring into Onyx's pure silver ones.

"Why?" she asked. The question sounded again and again, like a many of people were whispering.

"To see if you'll see this through, we don't want third-rate traitors who will sell us out to the enemy." Hiei said plainly.

In an instant Onyx's hand was on his throat. Hiei gripped her arm and shifted. Her grip tightened around the soft flesh. Her eyes narrowed.

"You think me a traitor, wielder of the Flame?" she asked in his mind, the question sounding over and over, like and echo.

"I wouldn't know, since you won't tell us anything!" Hiei hissed.

Onyx bared sharp fangs and emitted something like a growl. Hiei froze.

"I could break your mind so easily, wielder of the flame, don't try me." She said aloud, in a murmur. Hiei's eyes widened. She had spoken, aloud. Her voice was distinctively feminine, but with an edge of power that held years of experience.

She returned to her whisper in the mind. "You need not fear of my loyalty to Koenma. I am not a criminal."

Hiei glared at her. "It's not your loyalty to the baby I'm worried about, it's your loyalty to the rest of us."

Onyx said nothing for a while. "I gave my word." She released Hiei's throat and sat up, still on her knees. "Now, sleep."

Hiei's eyes suddenly felt heavy, he fought to keep them open until she left. He saw Onyx reach out two clawed fingers. They gently, with a feather-touch, closed his eyes. Then, before the sleep completely took him, he felt her fingertips run down his cheeks.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The next morning they met in Koenma's office again. Neither Hiei, nor Onyx, mentioned anything about their midnight meeting. So nobody knew anything. They briefly made eye contact though, each regarding the other with a silent, mutual respect.

The portal lay on the opposite side of the room, glowing and swirling like a blue and black vortex of plasma.

Koenma bade them farewell. "Botan is already there, and I have made arrangements for Yukina and Keiko to come. They will have VIP seats and be monitered by one of my trusted agents."

Yusuke nodded and slung his pack over his shoulder. He led the others over the portal and before he went into it, he gave Koenma a jaunty wave. "Back into the fire." He said. He calmly stepped into the portal and was gone.

Miki was next. She laughed and skipped through it. Aqua followed her "little sister" with the calm grace of a regal queen.

Kurama followed, just walked through, followed by Hiei and Onyx.

Koenma turned on his TV and watched as Team Urameshi appeared on Hanging Neck Isle once again.

The portal deposited them a few yards from the cliff in front of the hotel. Taking a deep breath, Yusuke led his team to the hotel that would house them for the Dark Tournament.

They walked through the gold revolving doors and looked around. Miki was wide-eyed, mouth open, a look of pure enjoyment on her face. She gazed at Kurama, who smiled warmly.

"Exciting, isn't it?" he asked nicely.

Miki blushed and giggled, looking away quickly. Kurama chuckled, he was good with children.

Aqua gazed around the elaborate hotel with calm interest, eyeing the large fountain in the reception area fondly. Onyx stood like a statue, the same expression on her face as usual.

The hotel manager walked up to them, beaming. "Urameshi-dono!" he exclaimed, "How good it is to have you again. We have for you the finest suite in our hotel. Come, come! I'll show you to your rooms. Koenma-sama said you'd be coming and reserved only the finest for this year's favorites!"

"Wow, the Tournament hasn't even started and we're already the favorites. How special." Yusuke said with a wry grin.

"Don't get too cocky, Yusuke," Kurama said, "We don't know what this year has in store for us."

"I know, I know," Yusuke replied, chuckling.

The manager unlocked their room and gave Yusuke and envelope with the extra card keys and bowed. They filed into the room and the manager left them, going to see to his other duties.

Miki ran to the balcony, "Ohhh! This is so flippin' awesome! We're on the top floor! I'll get good flying starts from up here." Then she ran through the short hall and inspected the two doors across from one another. She opened one and walked in. After a while she walked out. "I guess that's the boy's room, our luggage isn't in there." She walked in the other room and yelled, "I get the bed by the window!"

Aqua smiled at her adoptive sister's antics and followed her into the girl's room.

The layout of the suite was simple, but pretty large and exquisitely decorated. There was the living room and entrance nook, on the right side was the short hallway to the rooms. Each room had three beds and a bathroom with a shower, tub and two sinks.

To the left of the living room was the kitchen/eating area, a table with enough room for 8 sat by a large window looking out over the ocean. The suite was large and spacious, giving enough room for a lot of people if needed.

Yusuke walked in and fell backwards onto the couch. He dropped his bag on the floor beside him and sighed. "Another year. I didn't think I would have to go through with this again. Maybe it will be easier this year."

Kurama sat in an overstuffed armchair and gazed out the sliding glass door that led to the balcony. "It will be easier. Only the finals will be difficult."

"Aren't you the one who said not to get cocky, Kurama?" Hiei asked from the other chair across from the low coffee table.

"I'm just keeping our spirits high," the kitsune said.

Hiei gave his well-known 'hn' and said nothing more.

Onyx walked into the kitchen area slowly, as if sneaking up on something.

"Is there something-" Yusuke started to ask as he sat up, watching Onyx wide-eyed. He was silenced with a look from those eerie silver eyes.

Onyx turned the corner and squared off with the kitchen. There was a frightened yelp and a whisper with a loud echo. Onyx raised a clawed hand and a paralyzed demon floated towards her. The others gasped. Someone tried to get a head start on the Tournament. The Whisperer brought the demon into the living area, just as Aqua and Miki came out of the room. Miki gasped and Aqua raised her eyebrows, both hurried to the rest of them.

"What happened?" Miki questioned, wide eyes shining.

"We almost had an assassination," Yusuke replied, "But Whisper caught the slime ball before he could do it."

"Go Whisper!" Miki cheered.

"Where did you find it?" Aqua asked the shadow girl, who pointed to the kitchen.

"Anymore?" Aqua continued, Onyx replied with a slight shake of her head.

"Wow, some people may detest us like last year." Kurama said, closing his eyes.

"Or they want to win," Hiei remarked dryly.

Onyx clasped her hands together and the demon disappeared with a scream and a nasty squelching noise.

"Where did you send him?" Aqua questioned.

Onyx bared her fangs in a kind of evil grin the others didn't like the look of.

The days leading up to the Dark Tournament, numbering four, passed by pretty quickly. They registered with the committee, showing they were here, explored the island again and brushed up on fighting moves. The newcomers were really good, as far as they could tell. Onyx wouldn't fight though, but spent her time meditating, hovering a foot off the ground, legs crossed, arms crossed and head bowed. They didn't really bother her, all except Yusuke, who did so once. He tapped Onyx on the shoulder to tell her they were going in, and he was rewarded with a mental kick that sent him flying. No one bothered her for anything during meditation after that.

It was on the fourth day that they met up with Chu, Jin and Touya. The 3 had formed a team together, Team Mashuruki. They had others, of course, who were introduced and quickly were as comfortable with Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei as Chu, Touya and Jin were.

Yusuke and the others were walking out of the hotel when they heard a familiar voice. "OIY! Urameshi!"

They had looked back and Chu, Touya and Jin were walking towards them, three others with them. Yusuke and Chu had hugged like old brothers, Touya and Kurama had shook hands, friendly respect obvious in their stances and manner and Jin had lifted Yusuke up in the air with a laugh and dropped in.

"You ain't gonna win the Dar' Tou'nament this yea' Urameshi!" Chu challenged jokingly.

"Oh yeah?" Yusuke replied with a grin, "Just watch us!"

Then Chu remembered his other team members. There were two guys and one girl. All stood there, staring warily at their team act buddy-buddy with a competing team. The guy with buzz-cut black hair was Dankin, the guy with shaggy blonde hair was Honokodo, and the blue-haired girl was Shena.

"And who are these fine ladies you have on your team?" Jin asked, hovering cross-legged in the air, grinning.

Miki jumped up and down twice before Aqua laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm Miki! But I like to be called Hawk!" She gently pushed away Aqua's hand and flew up to Jin, emerald eyes wide. "Where are your wings!" she asked astonished.

Jin laughed and patted Miki on the head. "She's a cute little one ain't she? I don't need wings, little Hawk! I'm a master of the air."

Miki grinned happily and imitated Jin, sitting cross-legged and hovering in the air.

Aqua gave a small bow of her head, "I am Aiden, or Aqua, pleased to meet you."

She and Touya stared at each other for a long time.

"The ice-master, Touya," Aqua finally said at last, "It's is an honor."

Touya smirked not unkindly. "You're the water princess from Grand Lake."

Aqua smiled, "Yes I am."

Miki flew down to eye level with Aqua and Touya, she poked the ice apparition. "Are you always so formal and boring?"

"Miki!" cried Aqua.

"What?" the girl asked, oblivious, "I was just asking!"

Touya chuckled, "It's okay."

Chu eyed Onyx warily, who stared at him without blinking or moving. He leaned down to Yusuke, who cocked an ear so Chu could whisper into it.

"Hey, mate, is she safe?" the bigger man asked.

Yusuke giggled nervously, "She's just like that. She hasn't said two words or really done anything. Her name is Onyx, or Whisper, as Hawk wants us to call her."

Chu nodded and stepped towards Onyx, who was still staring at him. "'Ello there," he asid, sticking out a hand, "How are you?"

Onyx merely blinked.

Chu slowly lowered his hand, smiling nervously. He turned to face Yusuke, "Gives me the creeps that one."

Yusuke nodded vigorously.

They all walked to the arena together, Miki chasing Jin in the air, and vise versa. Touya and Aqua stuck up a conversation about water and ice bending. Chu, Kurama and Yusuke were talking about what to expect from this year's tournament. The 3 new members on the other team talked amongst themselves. Hiei and Onyx brought up the rear, silently walking, looking ahead.

Hiei looked out of the corner of his eye at his teammate. She was mysterious, foreboding, and all in all, that kind of attracted him. He wanted to find out all he could about this female it seemed no one really knew anything about. But most of all, he wanted to find out how well she could fight.

The arena drew near and the group paused for a moment.

"Here we go again." Yusuke sighed, "Another exciting Dark Tournament."


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Hello and welcome fans to this years Dark Tournament!" a young girl cried into the microphone. The crowd went wild. The referee continued, "My name is Kaasha and I will be your cute referee!" More cheers from the demonic crowd. The cat demon referee pointed to a group of people on the arena floor.

"Say hello to your competitors for this year! We have some veterans and a lot of newcomers, but give them all a hand!" she yelled. Her gray cat ears twitched and she smiled, a little fang showing in the corner of her mouth.

"Lets see the match-ups for the first round!" Kaasha said, pointing to the large overhead screen. It showed a tournament web, all fifteen competing teams were displayed at the bottom. Then the names of teams were shuffled. Everyone held their breath, or at least the competing teams did anyway.

Keiko, Yukina and Botan, along with Puu, sat in their own VIP box, with an excellent up-high view of the ring and a large TV screen that showed a close-up of the ring. The room was temp. controlled and had a large supply of refreshments.

"This is sure better than last year, sneaking in and having to sit with all those nasty demons," Botan said, popping open a can of soda.

Keiko nodded, taking one for herself. "I hope Yusuke does alright this year."

"Of course he'll do alright. Our boys will be a shoo-in to win." Botan replied confidently. She took a swig of her soda.

"I heard that Kuwabara couldn't come this year, and they got three new girls as team members." Yukina said, holding Puu.

"Huh?" Keiko asked, startled.

"Yeah," Yukina said, "Look they're on the screen."

Yukina was right. There stood Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama, along with a girl with feathery green wings, an older one who looked like she belonged in water, and the third that sent chills down Keiko's spine.

She turned to glare at Botan. "How come you didn't tell me about this?"

Botan came and inspected the screen. "I didn't know. Koenma told me he had found replacements, he didn't elaborate, so I didn't bother asking him more. It doesn't look like Yusuke would fall for any of them, if that's what your worried about Keiko." Botan told her, patting her on the shoulder.

Keiko sighed and looked out the glass window to the arena below. She could make out the figures of her team and sighed again. "Please be careful Yusuke," she whispered.

Down on the ring floor the names finished shuffling and two appeared in the first two slots, the others remained blank. Yusuke sighed, they had done this last year, deciding who would go one fight at a time. That's how his team had had to fight one battle after another, even though they were tired and hurt.

"Alrighty folks!" Kaasha yelled, "The first fight is between Team Mashuruki and Team Rufigachi! Would the teams in question please make their way to opposite sides of the ring and the rest of you feel free to get some refreshments or watch the fight from the stands to do whatever, just get out of the ring floor!"

Yusuke wished Chu good luck, the two clasped wrists like brothers. Touya and Aqua stared at each other for a long time. Then Aqua smiled. "Don't die on me." Touya grinned and nodded. Miki hugged Jin, who laughed and hugged the little girl back.

"Good luck Jin!" the hawklet cried. Then she landed next to Aqua and walked with them out of the ring to the area around the concession stand and the stairs to the different levels of the stands. Not many were here, they were all in the stands, waiting for the imminent fight.

"Let's go sit in the box with Botan and the others." Yusuke suggested.

"Did I hear my name?" came the Grim Reaper's voice.

They turned and saw the blue haired girl coming down the stairs with Keiko and Yukina in tow.

"Yusuke!" Keiko cried, a big smile on her face. She ran to her boyfriend and flung herself in his arms. He spun her around and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Then he rested an arm around her shoulders and turned her around.

"Keiko, meet our new teammates," he said, indicating the girls with a hand.

Miki ran up to Keiko and grabbed her hand, her wings were folded tightly against her back, forming an elliptical green halo on her back. "My name is Miki, but everyone else calls me Hawk!"

Keiko giggled and smiled at the girl, "My name is Keiko."

Miki ran to Botan, and then to Yukina. Then she took Puu from Yukina's hands and the little blue Spirit Beast gently nipped her finger.

"Puuuuuuuu!" the little flying penguin said happily.

Then Aqua introduced herself. The girls were warming up to each other, all except for Onyx. Her stoic expression and statue-like stillness made the other girls kind of uneasy.

Cheers from the crowd and an announcement from Kaasha broke up the little meeting.

"And here we go! The first match is between Jin and Visuano!"

Botan started up the stairs. "Come on! We don't want to miss our friend's fight!"

The rest followed at a run, except for Onyx, she walked.

Down on the ring floor the air master Jin faced off a large, stocky, green demon with a lot of horns and spikes named Visuano. Miki plastered herself against the glass in the VIP box, using her wings as balance. The rest sat in the many comfy seats around the TV with the close up of the ring. When they got themselves situated, Onyx finally entered the room. She sat in the last chair and rested her delicate-looking face on her fingertips.

"And fight!" Kaasha cried.

Visuano charged Jin, bringing out a double-headed axe from behind him. Jin dodged it easily, taking flight. He came up behind the big demon and tapped him on the shoulder, who swung around with his axe. Jin gained altitude and began winding up his shoulder. Soon it formed a little tornado.

"Tornado Fist!" cried Jin. He aimed his spinning fist at Visuano and fired. The tornado lengthened and sucked up the larger demon. He spun around and around inside the vicious tornado. Then Jin shot him out in a high arc. The demon went up and came down, fast and hard. He slammed against the edge of the ring and bounced off, hitting the wall. He came to rest on the ground, and didn't move.

"It can't be over already!" cried Miki from the VIP box.

"It may not be," Aqua told her.

Kaasha started the count of ten.

"One!" The demon didn't move.

"Two!" Still no movement.

"Three! ……… Four!……. Five!……..Six!………Seven!"

Visuani stirred.

"Eight!……… Nine!"

More stirring, but it was two late.

"Ten! And since Visauni failed to get up and get back in the ring, Jin is the winner!" Kaasha announced.

The crowd roared.

In the VIP box, Miki was flying around the spacious room, cheering with all her might. Yusuke yelled a 'Go Jin!'. And the others clapped or cheered.

"Man, I wish Genkia could be here to see this." Yusuke said, suddenly glum.

The door opened and there stood Genkai, a slight smirk on her face. "It's good to know I'm thought about." She said, her eyes on her student.

"Genkia! I didn't know you could come! Koenma said you were ill." Botan said, staring in astonishment.

Genkai snorted. "I wasn't ill. I had a few things to take care of. But im here, and that's what matters."

She walked over to the chairs and regarded the three new girls carefully. Introductions were made and she stared at Onyx for a long while. Then she gave a bow. Onyx's mouth twitched and she swept up and returned the bow.

The other's mouth's dropped. Genkai sat down on the other side of Kurama and Yusuke leaned over to his mentor. "That's the most of anything we've gotten out of her since we met, like a week ago."

Genkai chuckled, "I expected as much. Whisperer's aren't usually for talking and such. They are trained to blend with the shadows, to be silent and still, not to give themselves away. To them emotion in weakness."

"Then this girl must be very strong." Botan observed, sneaking a glance at the silver-eyed demon.

Genkai nodded. "Very."


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Alrigthy!" Kaasha cried, "It's time for our next match. The score is 1-0 with Team Mashuruki leading. Remember fans, the team with the most points at the end of this round wins!"

The crowd roared. "Come on now!" "Let's see some blood!" "More action, more action, more action!"

Kaasha ignored the rowdy crowd and flipped her tail. "Would the next fighters please come up to the ring."

Touya gracefully jumped up on the large stone and walked without emotion to Kaasha. A bat apparition did the same, grinning gleefully, an evil tint to his coal black eyes. They faced off in front of Kaasha.

"Okay! The next round is between Touya and Batuane!" the little cat demon announced, throwing one hand up high in the air. "Fighters take your opening positions,……..Begin!" She brought her hand down in a chop and skipped out of the way.

Instantly, the Bat apparition took to the skies. He was a fast flyer, just below a blur in Touya's sight.

"Can you keep up with me, ice master? Heeheeeheeheeehee!" his opponent cackled, "Can you possibly hope to find me!" He gave a screeching cackle.

Touya smirked and made ice grow on his right hand into a sword. "Ice sword!" He patiently watched the bat apparition swoop and dive at him, and found an opening in the other's defense.

Right as the apparition swooped down in front of Touya he jabbed with his sword, straight out in front of him. His weapon met the fragile membrane on the leathery wings. Blood spurted out and the bat apparition crashed to the ground, face first. Touya flicked the blood off his sword with a slight turn of his wrists and calmly walked to the bat demon, who lay still.

Kaasha ran up to count and was about to start when Batuane jumped up and lunged at Touya, grabbing his shoulders with sharp claws. The claws bit into Touya's pale flesh through his shirt. He grimaced. Batuane rolled him and grabbed the front of the ice master's shirt. With a grunt and a heave, Touya was sailing over Batuane's head. He flipped in the air and landed on the tips of his toes, right on the edge of the ring.

"Not good enough!" he called to his opponent. He made his sword of ice disappear and held his hand in a loose fist. He ran swiftly up to Batuane and flipped over his head.

"Shards of winter!" Touya cried. The shards of ice hit the demon in the back of the head and he fell forward, blood spilling from the back of his gray skull. Kaasha did the count and announced the results.

"Another win for Team Mashuruki! That's a 2-0 lead folks!" she cried.

Touya calmly walked off the ring and Jin clapped him on the back. The opponent's team members dragged their dead comrade off the ring, leaving a tail of murky red blood. Touya caught a death glare from the other team and gazed back calmly.

In the VIP box, Aqua clasped her hands before her heart, smiling happily. Miki snuck up behind her.

"I think someone's got a crush!" she said in a loud whisper. Aqua blushed and put her hands down in her lap, trying to fight off a smile. She looked around the room and caught a grin from Yusuke. Then she laughed at her own folly.

"Good job Touya!" she said softly.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

The crowd kept on cheering, their coarse yells echoing throughout the stadium. Up in the VIP box, your favorite team waited for the next match.

"I wonder who's going next?" Yusuke asked. He reclined on the couch, his head in Keiko's lap. She stroked his hair absently, eyes on the screen.

"The way things are going, they'll have no problem winning." Kurama observed, sitting back in a comfortable armchair.

Suddenly, Onyx swept out of the chair and went to the door.

"Where ya goin' Whisper?" Miki asked, perched on the counter.

The shadow demon locked her eyes on Miki's and said nothing. Miki shrank back, "Okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…" Miki said meekly.

Onyx silently opened the door and slipped out. Yusuke sat up and stretched. "I think she has the right idea." He got up and announced he was going for a stretch. Kurama and Hiei followed. Miki and Aqua stayed with the girls, watching the rest of the matches.

The four fighters walked down the long flight of stairs. The three boys stayed a few feet back from Onyx, still wary of the eerie Shadow Whisperer. She made no sound as she stepped down the stairs, as if she floated in inch of the ground.

"How come you didn't stay for the rest of the matches, Yusuke?" Kurama asked, peering at the black haired youth.

"How come you didn't?" Yusuke retorted, a cocky grin on his face. "No, I was actually getting bored. Watching the fight is not the same as fighting. Besides, I wanted some fresh air."

They were silent the rest of the walk. They reached ground floor and looked around. Demons and apparitions milled around, buying tickets at the betting machines and snacks from the concession stand. A group of apparitions walked past. Their leader looked human, with spiked blond hair and vibrant green eyes. He stopped, the five behind him stopped too. He slowly turned to face Yusuke.

"That's him," Yusuke muttered, his face going hard.

"How do you know?" Hiei asked, staring at the evil apparition.

"I can feel it. He just reeks with it." Yusuke replied.

The apparition smirked and walked over to Yusuke and the group. Onyx stepped in front of him, eyes narrowed. The demon took a step back, grinning. "Move, wretch." He said loudly. Onyx emitted a sound some others would have called a growl.

"Onyx, let him come." Yusuke said, eyes steely.

The shadow demon glanced back at Yusuke and took a step to the side, glaring at the demon as he walked past.

"What to you want, Surugachi?" Yusuke asked, voice hard.

Surugachi chuckled. "I'm pleased to know that the famous Spirit Detective knows my lowly name."

"What do you want?" Yusuke asked again.

Surugachi leaned forward, his eyes filled with malicious laughter. "Just to let you know, you won't win this year. I will make sure of it." He laughed and spun on his heel walking away. His team leered at them, showing fanged teeth.

Yusuke glared after them, every muscle in his body tense.

"He's powerful." Kurama said, voice level, "Very powerful."

"Yeah," Yusuke said, "I'm think I may be nervous this year too."

"He's not stronger than Taguro," Hiei said.

"I don't know. But he's strong." Yusuke said.

Onyx came up to Yusuke's side and stood beside him. Human and demon watched their enemy.

"You don't like him eaither?" Yusuke asked.

"Hmmm…." Onyx said.

Yusuke looked at her. "Are you ready for this?"

"Yes," Onyx said. Before anyone could be astonished that the seemingly mute demon talked, she vanished in a swirl of black smoke.

They found her back in the VIP room. None of them said anything about the incident earlier. They didn't want to frighten the other girls, but Kurama felt that he should warn the other two team members that weren't there.

"Team meeting over here!" Yusuke called.

Kurama flinched, he had wanted to be more discreet, but you couldn't trust Yusuke to be discreet. The six members of Team Urameshi gathered in the corner.

The other girls, Botan, Keiko and Yukina, stayed clustered around the TV screen. Aqua and Miki were kind of startled for a minute by their terse looks. Carefully and thoughtfully, Kurama told them what happened. The threat by Surrugachi, Yusuke getting kind of nervous, and the other stuff. He was about to tell what Onyx said, but a look from those pure silver eyes and he shut his trap.

Aqua sighed and Miki scowled.

"Well," Miki said her voice dripping with determination, "We'll just have to beat him and make him eat his words!"

Aqua laid a restraining hand on the younger girls shoulder. "It won't be that easy."  
"Huh?"

"If Yusuke is nervous, this demon is very powerful, or knows something we don't"

"I know one thing," Kurama said, leaning against the wall, "We have to exercise extreme caution. He could have bribed the Tournament committee like last time, trying to wear us down or keep us from winning."

"Yusuke, Yusuke!" Keiko cried, "Come look! Chu's team won the round!"

"Alright!" Yusuke said. He leaped over the couch and plopped down, watching his friends team leave the arena floor triumphant.

Kaasha appeared on the screen, watching the big screen. Two more team names appeared on the match web. Team Urameshi and Team Hagijo.

Yusuke stared at the match web for a minute. "Well guys," he said, "It's our turn."

He hugged Keiko and walked out the door, the rest of the team following.

Kaasha smirked as the crowd roared, she would have to thank Juri for getting her this job. It was fun.

"Would the two teams please report to the arena floor!" she said into the microphone.

Yusuke and his team walked through the big double doors, treading silently to stop at ringside. The doors on the other side of the floor opened and another team, heavily robed, walked out. Their heavy brown robes clanked and swished, the many chains the wore around their necks made soft clinking noises and swayed with the walker's footsteps. The heights ranged from short to extremely tall. They stopped at ringside and Kaasha took over.

"Okay, we have our two teams. Team captains please step up here to determine the rules for this match." She cat demoness said cheerfully.

Yusuke and a medium sized person from the other team stepped up and walked to Kaasha.

"Okay team captains, state your rules!"

The other person spoke first. "We start with a one on one, then whoever wins stays in the game, facing the others until they fall. Then another takes their place. They fight as many as they can before another takes the ring."

Yusuke stared hard at the darkness under the hood, debating how he could reply. Then he heard a voice in his head. _That will do, nicely. _He looked around, but saw no one. He went with the voice in his head and nodded.

"Team captains have decided on the rules. Arcade style folks! One person takes as many as they can by themselves before another player takes their place. Alright teams, pick your first player!" Kaasha said.

Yusuke walked back to his team, hopping off the rink. "Who's goin'?" he asked.

Hiei started to say something, but Onyx vanished from the back of the group and appeared on the rink.

"I guess she is," Yusuke said. Hiei scowled.

The one from Team Higijo stepped up and threw off his cloak. He was older, looking about in his forties or early fifties. He had gray hair, a lined face and spikes on his temples, his elbows and his knees. His skin was a pale gray, and he had gleaming yellow eyes. He regarded Onyx like a priest regarding the lowest sinner. He clutched a pentogram hanging from his neck and glared. Onyx did nothing.

Kaasha looked at the two demon and their names appeared on the big screen. She shrugged. "It's Whisper versus Ganga! Fighters take your opening stances………. Begin!"


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Ganga and Whisper faced off, Ganga glaring, Whisper expressionless. Then Whisper raised a hand and slowly clenched in into a tight fist. Ganga staggered, clutching his gray-haired head.

"No! No, no, no, no! Get out of my head spawn of the devil!" Ganga screamed, he flailed around, beating his head.

Whisper still had her hand in a tight fist. She twitched her wrist to the right. Ganga wrenched in that direction, as if pulled by some invisible rope attached to his head. He fell to his knees and lay twitching on the ground.

Yusuke and the others were in shock. Onyx had some power. Not even Hiei, with his Jagan eye could do what she was doing. She never moved from her spot, the only part of her body that moved now was her wrist, twitching in different directions, pulling Ganga around the ring like some pull toy.

A shudder crawled down Miki's spine. Those man's screams hurt her head. A hand was laid on her shoulder. She flinched and whirled around to come face to face with Kurama. He looked into her eyes, their emerald green orbs locking.

"You can cover your ears if you want to. I even feel the urge to." He said gently.

Miki nodded mutely and sank to her knees, covering her head with her arms, her ears shut to the sound. Her face was distorted in concentration.

Aqua rushed over to her, but Kurama stopped her. "She's getting weak from hearing Ganga scream. She's just protecting herself, keeping the sound from her childlike mind. Don't worry." He reassured her.

Aqua shot a worried glance at Miki and thanked Kurama. She went and stood by her "little sister" anyway, glancing about the arena. Seeing no one else that could be trying to sabotage them, she returned her eyes to the fight.

Ganga was still screaming. "NO! YOUR WRONG! I AM STRONG! I RESIST YOU, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

All of a sudden, huge, wispy dragon wings burst from Whisper's back. They seemed to be made of thick black smoke, or a shadow. They didn't tear her clothes or blow away in the wind. The edges did ruffle and sway in the wind, giving the appearance that they were just an illusion. They all thought so until the shadow demon leaped into the air and flew low and fast over the arena floor, headed for the still screaming Ganga. She grabbed her opponent and flew straight up, then she hung in the air and her wings wrapped around predator and prey, forming a cocoon of wispy shadow. The cocoon wriggled and thrashed, like a giant butterfly struggling to get out.

Then the thrashing stopped and they hung silently in the air. Something dropped from the cocoon, flying towards the ground. It hit and the audience and both teams were treated to the sight of Ganga, mangled and bloody, laying dead on the arena floor. Kaasha shrieked and jumped back. The dead demon had chunks missing from his body and large bite marks, as if Whisper had eaten him alive. Bone showed through flesh and blood seeped from the corpse and spread all around.

The cocoon in the air disappeared with a twitch and Whisper suddenly appeared in her starting position, hair in her face. The wind chose at that moment to gust about. It moved Whisper's hair out of her face. Yusuke and the others couldn't see, but the other team, that side of the audience and Kaasha could. She stood there, a sadistic smile on her face. Glowing red slits had formed in her pure silver eyes, which were wide open with some delirious happiness. Her fingers were longer and they had deadly razor sharp claws, all covered in blood. Blood marked her mouth, confirming their suspicions. Whisper had eaten Ganga alive.

Kaasha stood paralyzed, yellow cat eyes going from the half-eaten Ganga to Whisper, shaking. She shrieked when Whisper's eyes locked on hers. The sadistic smile on Whisper's face got bigger.

"Okay okay! I'll make the count!" Kaasha cried, "Just stop smiling at me like that!"

Whisper's team members froze. Onyx was smiling? What! She never showed any emotion.

"I declare Whisper the winner of this match! She stays in the ring, will the next fighter please come up here!" Kaasha went on, hysterical.

The tallest one stepped forward. "I told you Ganga would be the first to fail," he said. His voice was a deep bass, a rumbling growl. He threw off his cloak, revealing a tall human-like body. He had spikey black hair, vibrant green eyes and looked like he was on steriods. He wore only tight cloth pants and gloves on his hands. His chest and arms were tattooed with scars and real tattoo's. He smirked cockily. He walked over the Ganga's mangled corpse and kicked it off the ring. He faced Onyx, still smirking.

"You may have defeated the weakling, shadow demon," he said mockingly, "But you won't defeat Hijo! The Higijo Hammer!" he posed with his arms above his head, flexing his arm muscles.

Onyx responded by cocking her head. Her eyes got wider and her smile bigger, the mouth stretching abnormally. A high-pitched giggle come from her mouth.

Yusuke took a step back, a nervous expression on his face. "Okay," he said, his voice shaky, "What did she just do?"

"She's tasted blood." Aqua said, concern in her voice. "All those in her clan are like that. The taste of blood makes them go crazy. They thrive on torturing their prey and constantly work on new and better, more horrible ways to bring death."

"So the sadistic audience will have a good show, but us humans with weak stomachs may have to turn our heads." Yusuke said cockily.

Aqua nodded. "I'm afraid so. Lets hope our friend keeps her cool enough to realize when the fight is over, and not come after us."

Kurama whirled around, shocked. "She would do that?"

Aqua nodded gravely. "In my travels around the Makai I've seen wars fought between her clan and other demons. They go blood thirsty after the battle and sometimes they can't control themselves. They start to attack each other, not recognizing friend from foe in their mad state."

"She won't turn on us." Hiei said confidently.

"How do you know, Hiei?" Yusuke asked the small demon.

"In her present state her mind barrier is weakened. I've seen her thoughts and she's reassured me she knows this stays in the ring."

"But what if it gets so bad that she can't think anymore."

"She told me that won't happen."

"I guess we have to settle with that." Kurama said. He sighed, "I just wish… nevermind."

Aqua kneeled down beside Miki, the young girl had uncovered her head and was staring at Onyx, shaking, pale and sweaty. The water demoness hugged the littler girl and reassured her. Miki wrapped her arms around Aqua's waist and buried her face in the smooth cloth.

"Begin!" shouted the frightened Kaasha.

Hijo roared wordlessly and charged at Whisper, fist raised. She only smiled sadistically and leaned forward. Hijo punched and Whisper swayed out of the way. Hijo punched, kicked, jumped and thrashed. Whisper only swayed drunkenly, easily dodging her opponents attacks. Then she stood straight up and leaped into the air. The wings sprouted from her back again and her fingers lengthened a little more, the claws growing more deadly.

Hijo clenched his teeth, green eyes narrowed. He stayed on the ground, watching the shadow demon hang in the air, hovering with her impossible large shadow wings. He had seen her use this move on Ganga was he wasn't about to surrender to the same fate.

Whisper gazed down at her foe, now her prey. The red slit had grown larger, filling up a third of her eyes. Small veins of red now spread outward from the corners of her eyes, filling the silver of her eyes even more with red. As she hung in the air, the red filled her eyes completely. Now instead of the shiny silver they usually were, Whisper's eyes looked like orbs of blood. They glinted and moved like liquid. Small trickles of red ran down her cheeks. It was blood. Blood filled her eyes and ran down her pale cheeks like tears, The sadistic smile looked sad, as if someone was trying to come out of a cage, but was unable too by some stronger force.

Whisper giggled again and dove down at her prey. Hijo was ready. He wasn't going to let her take him up in the air and wrap him in that cocoon of shadows. But instead of grabbing the muscle bound demon, Whisper flew in a wide arch around him, blood filled eyes locked on her prey.

It was then the team got a good look at her. Yusuke took more steps back. Miki shuddered and clutched Aquaa bit tighter.

"Oh my, what have we teamed ourselves with?" Kurama mumbled. He couldn't take his eyes off Whisper. The tormented face crying blood, those hands clenching and unclenching. That sadistic smile unnerved him the most. Coming from this usually emotionless creature, that smile made him shudder.

"Be thankful she's on our side," remarked the unmoved Hiei. Kurama glanced down at the shorter demon.

"Her surprising change doesn't bother you?" Kurama asked.

Hiei was silent for a bit. "No." Secretly he was, but no one would know that. He was a bit unnerved. It was so unexpected. Also, secretly, he was worried for her. If she went over the edge and ignored what she had told Hiei, they would have to kill her. It would be a shame to have to kill someone with so much power, especially if they were a teammate. Inwardly, the fire youkai sighed. This Dark Tournament was getting complicated.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Whisper flew around her prey, crying blood. Then she darted in, increasing her speed to a blur. She sidepassed Hijo, a large gash appeared on his side. He clutched it wincing. Damn she was fast! She came in again and a large chunk was tore off his chest. Blood poured down his body in large rivets. Hijo grimaced and scrunched up his face. He judged when she would fly in and in what angle. He was correct in his guessing and this time, he was ready for her.

She dove at him, hands outstretched to render exposed flesh. Hijo waited until she was right on him and then he punched at her. His gloved fist met with the bloodstreaked flesh on her face. She fell back, wings and arms flailing. She hit the ground and bounced up and rolled end over end in the air. She came to rest face down on the ground. Her wings evaporated and she didn't move.

Kurama's eyes went wide. "She's not defeated?" he said, astonished.

Hiei shook his head, "No, she's faking."

"Did she tell you this, messenger boy?" Yusuke said cockily, his face set in a grimace.

Hiei glared at the team captain. "No, it's obvious. She's laying there pretending to be weakened and about to be defeated. Then he'll come over there to finish the job and she'll attack with more ferocity than before."

Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei watched with attentiveness, eager to watch this match.

Just as predicted, Hijo walked triumphantly over to the still motionless Whisper. He reached down and grabbed the hair on her scalp. He dragged her up, her body remaining limp. Blood still leaked out of her closed eyes and her mouth was slack, the sadistic grin lost in her charade.

Hijo laughed mockingly and reared back to punch her in the face again. The shadow demoness's eyes flew opened, another flood of blood poured out of her eyes. Hijo froze, face etched in disbelief. The sadistic grin slowly spread across her face. Her arm was blur as it latched onto the man's throat, claws piercing into the soft flesh. Hijo choked, coughing slightly. A trickle of green blood ran out of the corner of his mouth. Whisper tightened her hand and ripped it out, dragging those razor sharp claws through Hijo's neck. The head popped off, the neck being ripped out from under it.

Hijo's body collapsed and went limp. Whisper dropped gently to the ground and gazed at the decapitated body before her. Blood pooled from the severed neck, Hijo's lifeless green eyes started unblinkingly ahead, never to see anything again. Whisper blinked, squeezing more blood tears from her eyes.

The wings came back and she pounced on her next meal. The wings covered them, outsiders could only see a lumpy black shadowy substance. Finally, Whisper appeared back in her original starting place. This time, a fleshy skeleton was left there, instead of a recognizable corpse.

The crowd cheered. They were loving this. They thrived on bloodshed and pain and enjoyed the entertainment Whisper brought.

Kaasha was shivering uncontrollably. The shadow demoness had creeped her out before, but not she was downright scared. Forget fun! She loved carnage and all, but not like the other girl, the first referee.

"T-the match goes to Whisper!" the hysterical referee cried, "That makes it two-nothing, Team Urameshi! Next fighter please!"

The another stepped up to the ring, but kept their cloak on. Whisper cocked her head and flexed her hands.

"Okay, she's really creeping me out now…" Yusuke said.

"I agree. That last match showed me more of her I now don't want to know." Kurama said. His eyes were slightly wider than usual. He knew, along with everybody else, that this next match would be gorier than the last.

Miki and Aqua sat huddled near the wall, their backs turned towards the ring. Aqua was rocking the softly shaking Miki and singing a soft lullaby.

Hiei watched Whisper with fascination. It seemed to him she was trying to escape from something. That face made him think. She was unhappy, she just didn't let her emotions show. Well, she wasn't really UNHAPPY, but just unsatisfied, like she didn't like what she was in. What she didn't like, he still couldn't figure out. Was it the Tournament? Or her clan? If the story Aqua told was true, than her home life was pretty horrible. One wouldn't guess it, but given the tormented face and the ferocity in which she fought in, she had a lot of strong emotions stored up.

He closed his eyes, the Jagan glowing slightly from under the bandana. He studied Whisper's figure with the unnatural eye. Yes, he was right. Hate, anger, betrayel, sadness, loneliness. They surrounded her being like an everlasting rain cloud, forcing her to keep everything in check. Nothing could reach other's eyes, ears or other senses. But that one question still plagued Hiei's mind. Why was she like this? His scowl deeped ad he clenched his fist. He didn't like being kept in the dark. He like to know things about people, to understand who they were, what they did, and why they did it. This everlasting mind block and tasty clues that didn't reveal a lot bugged him. He wanted to shake the answer out of the demoness. It just frustrated him so! He would find out more tonight, while she slept. Hopefully these fights would drain her body and mind, making her mind barrier weak and penetrable. Then he would get his much sought after answers.

((sorry this chapter is short, a saved the actual fight for the next chapter. R+R plz!))


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Whisper and the cloaked opponent faced off. Whisper was stained with the blood of her lest two opponents, the green and red mixing together to form an ironic Christmas theme.

Kaasha stared at the new challenger, waiting for him name. This one she didn't know.

"My name is Fusoje. I am the team captain," the challenger said. It's voice sounded male and slightly robotic, mechanic-like.

"Okay, round three is between Whisper, again, and Fusoje. Begin!" Kaasha said. She ran to the edge of the arena, ears twitching. She huddled in on herself and waited for the bloodshed to begin anew.

Fusoje and Whisper stood there, not moving an inch, not even a muscle twitched. Then Fusoje's heavy black cape fell to the ground, he was not there. He appeared behind Whisper, who whirled around and caught his leg as he kicked out. Fusoje was lean and wiry, he looked slightly human, except for the lizard-like feet and no ears. His hair was long and green, kept back out of the way in a clasp at the base of his skull. His eyes were black, the pupil indistinguishable from the iris. His movements were fast and strong, but Whisper seemed a bit faster.

Then Fusoje struck a hit. His high kick connected with Whisper's jaw and the girl flew up and back, her body a graceful arc in the air. Then Fusoje appeared by her side. His knee came up into her back and she flew upwards, body contorted unto a U shape, chest out. Her black hair flew back, and that smile never left her face.

Again Fusoje appeared. He clasped his hands together and slammed them into Whisper's stomach. She didn't even retaliate. She fell towards the earth and landed with a crash. The floor underneath her was cracked and dented a bit. She lay facing upwards, the tears of blood got wider, until a small river flowed down both sides of her face.

Fusoje landed beside his still opponent and stood there, calculating. Whisper stirred, bringing her arms close to her body. Then she raised up, staggering as she got her feet under her. A small trickle of more blood came out of her mouth from the beating. She wiped it away, only to smear the tears across her face. They dripped steadily onto the stone, creating small pools of it.

Whisper put her hands, palm together, in front of her chest and brought her chin down a bit. Then she started whispering. She kept on whispering and whispering. It sounded like hundreds of people were whispering the same strange language over and over again, becoming loud like the steady beat of a strong rain. Then, the air got thick with fog, the stadium dark, even though there was no roof overhead and it was noon.

No one could see through the fog, it was so thick. Yusuke blanched, this was bad. He didn't like the Spirit Energy flowing freely through the air. It made his hair stand on end. He could still hear the whispering, it was still loud. Then it stopped. The air was silent. Nothing stirred, nothing moved. The fog seemed like a soundproofing barrier. Yusuke felt as if he'd gone deaf. That was until, Fusoje's tortured scream filled the air. Then crashes and bangs and grunts of pain, then another scream. Yusuke never heard anything from Whisper. That freaked him out even more.

Then the fog was sucked up into the air, as if a large vacuum had appeared over the stadium and sucked it up. Whisper stood there, in the middle of the ring, head bowed, shoulders slack, the picture of dejection. Fusoje was nowhere to be seen, only a large splatter of blood.

"Another win for Team Urameshi!" cried Kaasha, "The score is 3-0, in favor of , yes, Team Urameshi! All thanks to the strong, swift and incredulously creepy Whisper! In my life I have never seen someone like her! Umm. You are a girl, right?" Kaasha turned to Whisper who glared at the question, but nodded. Kaasha shivered and looked away. "Alright, now who is next up for the slaughter." She looked at Team Hagijo. "Well?" she asked, "This tournament can't go on without another victim."

Two of the three left were shaking, visibly, in their heavy robes. With a cry of "Have mercy!" they turned tail and ran out the large doors, throwing off their robes. They, obviously, were too chicken to fight Onyx, a.k.a. Whisper.

The last hung his head, he too was shaking slightly. He brought his hands up, palms out, in an "I surrender" position. "Team Hagijo forfeits. We simply are not strong enough."

Boo's erupted from the crowd. They wanted to see action, not surrendering! "You spineless cowards!" "You shouldn't have come here in the first place!" "Boo! Boo on you!"

Kaasha stood there for a moment, cat ears twitching. "Did I hear right? You just surrender? As in forfeit?"

The last team member nodded.

Kaasha rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine then. Team Hagijo disgracefully forfeits the match, making the official winners Team Urameshi! You move on to the next round!"

Onyx turned around and walked off the ring, landing softly as she jumped off the side. Aqua and Miki were standing side by side, a frightened look still in the younger girls green eyes. Aqua looked Onyx in the eyes and nodded; Onyx nodded back. She walked right past the boys, who just nodded to her, she nodded back once in reply. As she walked past Miki, she gently gave the hawk demon's shoulder a squeeze. Miki froze, and turned around, watching Onyx walk away.

"Well, that was…… enjoyable." Yusuke said, coming up to Aqua and Miki.

"She doesn't even look tired," Kurama said, watching the mysterious shadow demon go.

"She's not. Those three wimps she faced were nothing on her radar. Just like swatting an annoying fly," Hiei said.

Yusuke smirked, "What, she tell you that too?"

Hiei glared up at Yusuke, "No," his voice was tight, "I read her energy, it is still at the same level it began at. Nothing was wasted."

Yusuke laughed, "C'mon Hiei, I was just joking around."

"You should know by now," Kurama said, "Hiei doesn't joke around.'

Yusuke just laughed and started following Onyx. The rest followed him, walking out of the ring while the crowd was still cheering.

Keiko, Botan and Yukina (along with Puu) met them outside the hallway. They regarded Onyx carefully, as if she would do something to them. Onyx only gave them an unreadable look and wandered off somewhere. Apparitions and demons didn't come near Onyx, her face was still streaked with those blood-tears. Her body became tighter and tighter as more and more demons didn't come within 20 feet of her.

Hiei watched her go, he saw how she tightened up, he saw how the demons avoided her. He was not listening to the close-up play-by-play Miki and Yusuke gave the other girls, who were, in turn telling them what it looked like from above. Without telling the others where he was going, he started off after Onyx, walking slowly, aimlessly.

Aqua saw the short apparition go and stared. He was following Onyx, why she didn't know. I guess he has his own private reasons, she thought. She turned back to the others, watching Miki gaze adoringly at Kurama. She hid a smile. The older boy didn't even realize that Miki was staring at him at all. She watched Kurama as he told a story Yusuke had urged him to tell. He was entrancing, very handsome, very charming, sensitive and kind. She could see why Miki would have crush on this boy. She just hoped, when Kurama would tell her it wasn't meant to be, that she wouldn't take it too hard.

Onyx glared as she walked down the hall. Nobody knew why, no one except her. She was silently stewing in rage. She took deep breaths, trying to calm down. She didn't want a repeat of the last time she got too angry. She turned down another hall way and found a fountain. She knelt by it and splashed her blood-streaked face with water. The dried crimson slowly came off. Her eyes went back to their normal color and finally her face was clean and pale as usual. She turned around and sat on her butt, drawing her knees up and resting her head back and sighing. She rested her arms on her knees, looking very much a tomboy, but others would see this as a "Go away or I'll kill you" pose. And that kind of ticked her off.

Her eyes were closed, but she sensed a small, wiry figure walking up to her. His footsteps were soft, and he stood about 4'10". Onyx took in a deep breath through her delicate nose. Hiei. Again. He didn't know when to quit.

"Quite a display you put on out there." Hiei said.

Onyx did nothing.

He came and sat by her, a few feet away. She visibly tensed her body and a slight scowl came on her face. Hiei stared at her for a few moments.

"Why?" he asked.

Onyx didn't have to ask him why what, she knew he was asking why she felt as she did.

"You don't need to know." Her voice sounded in his head.

He kept on staring. "But you want me to know."

"Yes," she said, still in his mind, "But you can't know."

"Why not?"

"Because, it hurts."

Hiei pondered this for a moment. Then he realized, under this cold, calm exterior, she was fiery, willfull, and slightly vulnerable. It took a lot of self-control for her to keep all of it under her mask. "It hurts more the longer you keep it in."

She turned her head slightly towards him, looking at the ground. "You know this?"

"For a fact." He slid over beside her. "Show me." He placed a hand on her forehead.

Onyx took a shuddering breath in through her nose and nodded, closing her eyes.


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter 10

_He stood in a dark room. Only a little light spilled in through the small holes up near the roof. He looked down, he was standing on black flagstones, the walls were the same way. _

This is the Purification Chamber, _Onyx's voice sounded in his head. It wasn't a whispering voice, but a normal one, it sounded kind of nice. _They bring you here during your early years if you show any sort of emotion, this is why I can never….later.

_Out of nowhere a door opened and a gray light filtered in. A young girl, looking only about six or seven, walked through the door. Figures stood behind her, tall and hooded with long black cloaks._ _The elders shut the door after the little girl reached the middle of the chamber. Hiei watched the girl curiously. Then he felt someone come up beside him. It was Onyx. _

"_Is this you?" he asked her. She nodded, then she pointed at something.  
Hiei looked to where she pointed and his eyes narrowed. A woman with a striking resemblance to Onyx was led in by another hooded person. The person held a long whip in one hand and Onyx's mother with the other. Both people stood in front of Onyx and the hooded one held out the whip. The mother took it and reared it back then brought it down upon the little girl's shoulders. Hiei clenched his jaw. The little girl fell to her knees, shaking. The whip kept on biting into her flesh. Her arms, her face, her back, her legs. Nothing was safe from the lash of the whip. Then little Onyx started bleeding and the mother handed the whip back to the elder and rushed out of the room. The elder followed more slowly. _

_They left the little girl kneeling there, bleeding. _

That happened every time I showed emotion, even the littlest facial gesture got me and the other children that punishment. We were whipped brutally by our mothers, even though they didn't want to do it, it is custom, and the customs must be upheld.

_They fast-forwarded a few years, Onyx looked 10. They were in her room and she was sleeping, black hair splayed out about her like a halo. The small door opened silently and a man walked in. He had sharp, vulture-like features and greasy black hair and the customary silver eyes of the Whisper Clan. He crept over to the side of the bed just as Onyx was awaking. He whispered something just as her eyes fully opened and she was instantly paralyzed. She glared at the man, who smirked evily. Then, both Hiei and Onyx watched as the Head Elder molested and raped little Onyx without remorse, or guilt._

That went on for years, until I got strong enough to fend him off. _She told him. _

_Onyx looked away and that memory disappeared. A classroom appeared, several small children, and many older ones sat cross-legged on the floor of the room. They had scrolls in their hands, and they were reading them. _This ties in with what I will show you in a minute. _Onyx said, _It is a legend, of the Crying Whisperer.

But you said that Whisperer's don't-, Hiei started.

I know what I siad, let me finish.

_It was replaced by a large gathering place inside the temple. Onyx was 13 in this memory. She stood on a long stone dias, like one for sword fighting or dueling. She faced her mother, who looked slightly sad. The Head Elder appeared to the right of the stone rectangle and nodded. _

This is the Acception Exam. To become a full Whisperer, you had to take a test. The test is different for everyone. They made me kill my mother. _Onyx told Hiei as they watched. _

_13-year-old Onyx hesitated for a second before raising her hands above her head and whispering. She kept on whispering that certain language and dropping her hands in a chopping motion in front of her. Instantly her mother collapsed in a heap. _

Even though it was forbidden, I had a bond with my mother. I loved her. She was the only one I loved. And they made me kill her. She said she wouldn't defend herself, she said that, she would sacrifice herself for me in any situation, not just this. My mother also said I had to, or we would both die. So, I did, and every day, I regret it. _Onyx explained. _

_Two years later, Onyx is 15. She walked down a dark hallway and came upon a door slightly ajar. The Head Elder sat there with one of the Sheeshi Clan, their enemy clan, the ones the Whisper Clan hated so much. _

_Things were said in a low undertone that Hiei couldn't hear. Then a large burplap sack was passed across the table. The items inside clinked and tinkled like coins. _

The Head Elder paid off the Sheeshi Clan to attack us, to get rid of the ones who opposed him, me mainly. That got me mad in the first place._ Onyx told him. _

_Two weeks later. Hiei and Onyx are on the battlefield, the Sheeshi Clan and the Whisper clan are fighting to the death. Hiei spies the Head Elder kill a younger member of his clan. Younger Onyx sees it too. As she moves to confront the Head Elder, he moves off, killing Sheeshi warriors. Onyx knelt down by the youth. It was one of her "friends". She put her fingers to the open wound on his neck and sucked the blood off her fingers. Then, her silver eyes grew red, swimming with those blood-tears. She placed her mouth to the wound and drank the blood. Then she started crying, the blood-tears running down her face. _

_She stopped drinking the blood, stood up and locked her sight on the Head Elder. She strided towards him, slowly, angrily, though no emotion showed on her blood streamed face. Both the Whisper people and the Sheeshi people stopped fighting when she passed them. Hiei looked up at the Onyx standing beside him, questioning. She didn't reply, merle nodded her head towards her memory self. _

_She came within a few yards to the Head Elder and he stopped. Now everyone on the battle field was still. _

_The Elder's eyes widened in shock. "The Crying Whisperer, you have awakened again."_

_Another gush of blood ran down Onyx's cheeks and the sadistic smile spread across her face. In a flash she tackled down the Head Elder and took out all the pent up rage and anger she held since the first time she was beaten out on him. She ripped his flesh off the both with her teeth, her hands, her mind, everything she could use. When she finished she raised her hands up in the air and started whispering again. The older Whisper people started disappearing, running away from Onyx. The younger ones and the Sheeshi Clan didn't know what to do, and they were left standing there, not knowing what was going on. _

_The sky darkened and lighting started striking out of control. A huge black shadow dragon dove from the sky, right into Onyx. Then, the black shadow wings she had in the arena during her match appeared, and the slaughter began. She mutilated, killed, and tortured everyone on that field with her power. Her Clan, her enemy, none mattered. _

_When she finished, only a few were left standing. They teleported back to the temple as fast as they could. Wanting to get away from the mad Whisperer. _

_Her emotions now in check, Onyx also teleported back to the temple. _

Hiei jerked back into the real world with a shake. Onyx slowly opened her eyes.

"They made me leave. That's when the lonliness began. We never talk to each other or show emotion, but we always have someone there. When we were babies and toddlers, we all slept side by side to still our crying, for that was unacceptable. As the news of my outburst spread, I was left alone. It hurt, at first. Then I became used to it, and I turned into what I am today." She said aloud.

Hiei nodded. He understood. He had had a hard life, but it wasn't terror filled as her every day was. He took his hand off her forehead and stared into her silver eyes. Onyx stared back. Then she closed her eyes and looked ahead, standing up with a sweep of her hair and bloodstained cloak.

_We should get back,_she whispered into his head,_ You tell anyone what you found out today.._

Hiei nodded. "I can keep secrets. Don't worry." He stood up and they walked back to the others.

They found the rest of the team in the VIP lounge. Onyx opened the door and walked in, eyes sweeping over everyone in the room. They all nodded to her, nervous. She took a deep breath and sat down in her chair. Hiei came in and walked right past Onyx and sat down with the others.

"Hey," Yusuke said under his breath, "What happened."

Hiei felt a slight touch on his mind, "We have…an understanding." The touch disappeared. "Leave it at that."

"Alright, fine." Yusuke said. "We don't fight any more today. The Quarter-finals are tomorrow. I'm sure we'll fight most of the day. Against almost all the teams."

Kurama nodded. "That's the way it was last year."


End file.
